After two days of deliberation and discussion, China and Pakistan have come to a mutual agreement at the second phase of Free Trade Agreement (FTA-II) being held in Beijing.
The final agreement will be signed by PM Imran Khan on his visit to China to attend 2nd Belt and Road Forum as a guest of honour. According to sources China has finally agreed to extend unilateral market access to hundreds of Pakistani products which had been on the table for more than one year. China has also agreed to give another special quota of one billion dollars to Pakistan for export of potato, wheat, onion and cherry, in addition to existing one billion dollars.
However, it is still unclear if China has agreed to the clawback request of Pakistan or not as Pakistan was insisting on clawback on five tariff lines – bus, truck, tyres, glass, steel bars and rods, mobiles and LED lights.
As the Pakistan team returns, Abdul Razak Dawood will announce the pact to be signed with China after formal approval of the federal cabinet.
The Pakistani businessmen and Chamber of commerce have repeatedly raised concerns regarding CPFTA saying that the agreement should not be at the cost of shutting down the Pakistani industry. Pakistan’s current trade deficit with China has increased to $ 17 billion.
